I am still stuck on the tastiness of the aji amarillo. The dish I like the best made with this yellow pepper is Aji de Gallina. I had the opportunity to sample this dish twice, once at Machu Picchu in Raleigh and again when my homestay “Mom” made it in Cusco. Now, the time I tried it in Raliegh it was delish, however, no comparison to the scrumptiousness of the Aji de Gallina I had in Cusco. Nothing like homemade!

I found this great recipe below under South American Food at About.com as well. It reminds me of Mexican moles – with a pepper and nut base. Maybe it is Peru’s answer to the moles of Mexico. Which I am a fan of by the way – chocolate moles, red moles, green moles, black moles – but I digress, to the recipe! I will give it a whirl this weekend, I think.

Peruvian Spicy Creamed Chicken – Aji de Gallina

Aji de gallina is a delicious Peruvian classic – slightly spicy and bright yellow from the famous aji amarillo peppers, and rich from the unusual cream sauce made with ground walnuts. This dish is traditionally served over rice, with boiled yellow potatoes and black olives. You can buy frozen yellow aji peppers (they often look more orange than yellow) at Latin food markets. You can also find jarred aji amarillo paste, which works well too. If you can’t find aji amarillo peppers, then substitute another hot chile pepper and add a yellow bell pepper for color.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3-4 yellow aji peppers

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

4 slices white bread

3/4 cup evaporated milk

4 yellow potatoes

2 hard boiled eggs

10 black olives, halved

Preparation:

Cook the yellow potatoes in salted water until tender when pierced with a fork. Let cool, peel, cut into quarters, and set aside.

Place the bread in a small bowl and pour the evaporated milk over it to soak. Set aside.

Place the chicken breasts in a pot with the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until chicken is just barely cooked through.

Set chicken aside to cool. Strain broth and reserve 2 cups.

Remove stems and seeds from the peppers. In a blender, process peppers with the vegetable oil until smooth.

Sauté the garlic and onions with the puréed peppers and oil, until the onions are soft and golden. Remove from heat and let cool.

Shred the cooled chicken into bite-size pieces.

In a blender or food processor, process the evaporated milk and bread mixture with the nuts and parmesean cheese until smooth. Add the cooked onion mixture and process briefly.

Return onion mixture to pan, and add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken stock. Bring to a low simmer, and stir in the chicken. Heat until warmed through, adding more chicken stock if sauce is too thick.

Serve over rice, garnished with the yellow potatoes, slices of hard boiled egg, and black olives.

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